Crush
Studio album by
2NE1
ReleasedFebruary 27, 2014 (2014-02-27)
Recorded2012–2014
StudioYG Studios (Seoul)
Genre
Length35:06
LanguageKorean
Label
Producer
2NE1 chronology
Global Tour: New Evolution
(2012)		 Crush
(2014)		 World Tour Live CD (All or Nothing in Seoul)
(2014)
Singles from Crush
  1. "Come Back Home"
    Released: February 27, 2014
  2. "Gotta Be You"
    Released: February 27, 2014
Japanese edition cover
CD only and digital download editions cover

Crush (stylized in all caps) is the second and final studio album overall by South Korean girl group 2NE1, released on February 27, 2014 by YG Entertainment. The album marked the group's first Korean album release since 2NE1 2nd Mini Album (2011) and their first studio album following To Anyone in four years. Crush was produced by Teddy, Choice 37, Dee.P, Masta Wu, Choi Pil-kang and Peejay, as well as group leader CL. Stylistically, the album incorporates a broad range of musical influences from R&B, hip hop, dance, electronic, and reggae.

Crush received positive reviews from critics upon its release, who mainly complimented its modern electronic innovation. Rolling Stone and Fuse listed Crush as one of the best albums of the year worldwide. The album sold over 5,000 copies within four days in the United States and debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200, making it the best-selling and the highest charting Korean album in the country at the time. The Japanese edition of Crush was made available on June 25, 2014, and peaked at number four on the Oricon Albums Chart.

The lead single from the album, "Come Back Home", peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart for two consecutive weeks, becoming the group's ninth number-one hit in South Korea. The second single, "Gotta Be You", was promoted on music program Inkigayo and peaked at number three on the Gaon Digital Chart. Shortly after the release of Crush, the group commenced their third concert tour titled the All or Nothing World Tour, which visited multiple countries in East and Southeast Asia.

Background

On January 15, 2014, a poster for the group's upcoming All or Nothing World Tour was revealed on their agency's website, with hints about a new album.[1] On February 19, it was revealed the album would contain of a total of 10 songs. All of the songs are new, except two; "Scream", which was previously featured on their 2012 Japanese language album Collection and an Acoustic Version of the album's title track. It was further revealed that the group's leader CL co-composed and wrote lyrics for three and five songs respectively, a first for the group.[2]

Promotion and release

The digital download of the album was originally scheduled for release on February 24, 2014, but was pushed back to February 27 to coincide with CL's birthday on February 26. Two music videos for its lead single "Come Back Home" were scheduled for release on February 28, although neither were released until March 2.[3] The album in physical format was released on March 7.[4][5] The music video for "Happy" was released on March 2.[3]

Prior to the release of the album, 2NE1 held a private listening party for a group of 21 people selected from fans and music experts.[6] It was revealed the new songs would be showcased for the first time at the opening dates of the group's All or Nothing World Tour in Seoul, South Korea on March 1 and 2.[3] On May 20, 2NE1 released the music video for "Gotta Be You".[7][8]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Idology(positive)[9]
IZM[10]
Los Angeles Times[11]
Pitchfork7.3/10[12]
Weiv7/10[13]
Yahoo! Voices[14]

Crush received positive reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone named it the sixth best pop album of 2014—the only appearance from an Asian artist on the list, with Charles Aaron writing "Almost two years after K-pop first giddily barged into America's imagination, the genre hasn't sustained a post-"Gangnam Style" wave, but the Seoul machine [2NE1] keeps humming." He further highlighted the diversity of all its tracks, and identified "MTBD" as the album's centerpiece.[15] Fuse noted the group's "knack for genre-melding" and wrote that "After fans waited nearly four years for their second full-length album, the K-pop phenoms did not disappoint with a slew of forward-thinking, wholly-accessible tracks". They selected "Come Back Home", "Baby I Miss You" and "Gotta Be You" as the album standouts.[16][17] The publication further included Crush in their year-end ranking of best 40 worldwide albums of 2014.[18]

Billboard ranked it the number one best K-pop album of the year, where they felt that it "proved more than worth the nearly-four-year wait" and highlighted the record's venture into new sonic territory with the fusion of different genres.[19] August Brown of Los Angeles Times stated that "'Crush' has one foot in each country's pop music: K-pop's neon melodies, with sounds from America's trap and bass-music scenes. It's the most coherent LP to come out of this generation of K-pop."[11] Writing for Pitchfork, Corban Goble commented that "The brash all-female Korean pop supergroup 2NE1's new album, Crush, bottles up contemporary trends as well as their usual EDM/reggae/hip-hop/R&B stylemash. But it represents a sleeker, more refined vision for the group."[12] Conversely, Jeon Min-seok of webzine IZM had a more critical stance, feeling that the songs from the record were not as great as those found in the group's earlier albums.[10]

Crush was chosen as the Favorite Girl Group Album on the "Girl Group Week Readers' Poll" hosted by Billboard in May 2014, beating albums by Girls Aloud, Little Mix, Destiny's Child and the Spice Girls.[20] Billboard named it the 18th greatest K-pop album of the 2010s decade while Paste named it the 20th greatest K-pop album of all time, with the latter calling it a worthwhile last album "to one of K-pop's most important girl groups."[21]

Commercial performance

Following its release, Crush sold over 5,000 copies within four days in the United States and debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200. In doing so, the album broke two records: the best selling K-pop album in the country (the record has since been beaten by Exo's Exodus which sold 6,000 copies) and the highest-charting album by a Korean artist on the Billboard 200, which would hold the record for two and a half years. In the group's native country South Korea, the album debuted and peaked at number two on the Gaon Album Chart in the chart issue dated March 2–8, 2014.[22] According to Gaon's mid-year charts, the tracks from Crush have been downloaded over 5.2 million times;[23] however, it underperformed it terms of physical sales compared to the group's previous records. Due to its successful digital performance, it landed their fourth nomination for Album of the Year at the 2014 Melon Music Awards.[24]

Controversy

CL performing edited version of "MTBD" on the tour in Jakarta

Listeners accused the sixth track, "MTBD 멘붕(Mental Breakdown)" of having an audio sample of a young boy reciting Quran verses. This struck social media by storm amongst 2NE1's Muslim listeners, with even death threats being posted on both the group's and CL's social media pages. Because of this controversy, YG Entertainment released an alternate version of "MTBD" which omits the sample.[25]

Japanese edition

The Japanese edition of Crush was released on June 25, 2014. The Limited Edition (Type A) contains the both Japanese and Korean versions of the album on 2 CD's, as well as a bonus DVD with music video clips and "making of Crush". The Special Edition (Type B) contains the DVD and Japanese version of the album while the Standard Edition (Type C) contains only the Japanese version of the album, without the DVD. The Fan Club Special Edition (Type D) has DVD footage of a fan club event from 2013. The Music Cards also contain information from the group's 2014 All or Nothing World Tour.[n 1] All editions have alternate covers.

Accolades

Awards and nominations for Crush
Organization Year Category Result Ref.
Bugs Music Awards 2014 Top 10 Albums Won [26]
Melon Music Awards 2014 Album of the Year Nominated [24]
Best R&B / Soul Song (for "If I Were You") Nominated
Philippine K-pop Awards 2014 Album of the Year Won [27]
Golden Disc Awards 2015 Album Bonsang Nominated
Red Dot Design Awards 2015 Best Communication Design Won [28]
Crush on critic rankings
Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 10 Best K-pop Albums of 2014 1 [19]
The 40 Best K-pop Deep Cuts of the Decade ("MTBD") 2 [29]
The 25 Greatest K-pop Albums of the 2010s 18 [30]
Fuse Best 40 Albums of 2014 — [18]
Paste The 30 Greatest K-pop Albums of All Time 20 [21]
Rolling Stone 20 Best Pop Albums of 2014 6 [15]
Vice The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2014 ("If I Were You") 7 [31]

Track listing

Korean edition

No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Crush"CLCL, Choice 37Choice 373:14
2."Come Back Home"TeddyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:50
3."Gotta Be You" (너 아님 안돼; Neo Anim Andwae)Teddy, Masta WuTeddy, P.KP.K3:52
4."If I Were You" (살아 봤으면 해; Sara Bwasseumyeon Hae; lit. I Wish I Could Live (That Way)CLCL, Dee.PDee.P3:30
5."Good to You" (착한 여자; Chakhan Yeoja; lit. Kind Woman)Teddy, G-DragonTeddy, Choice 37Choice 373:41
6."MTBD" (CL solo; 멘붕; Menbung; lit. Mental Breakdown)Teddy, CLTeddyTeddy3:16
7."Happy"TeddyTeddyTeddy3:37
8."Scream" (Korean version)CLTeddy, Dee.PDee.P3:40
9."Baby I Miss You"CLCL, Choice 37, PeejayChoice 37, Peejay3:12
10."Come Back Home" (Unplugged version)TeddyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:14
Total length:35:06

Japanese edition

Crush – Standard version
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Crush"Sunny BoyCL, Choice 37Choice 373:14
2."Come Back Home"Teddy, Sunny BoyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:49
3."Gotta Be You"Teddy, Masta Wu, Sunny BoyTeddy, Masta WuChoi Pil Kang3:51
4."Do You Love Me"Teddy, Sunny BoyTeddy 3:35
5."Happy"Teddy, Sunny BoyTeddy 3:37
6."Falling in Love"Teddy, Choice37, Sunny BoyTeddy 3:46
7."I Love You"Teddy, Sunny Boy, Tatsuji Ueda, Izumi Soratani, KeisukeTeddy, Lydia Paek 3:57
8."If I Were You"Ritsuko TanifujiCL, Dee.PDee.P3:30
9."Missing You"Teddy, Tatsuji UedaTeddy 3:39
10."Come Back Home" (Unplugged version)Teddy, Sunny BoyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:14
Total length:36:12
Crush Type A – CD (Disc 2: Korean edition)
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Crush"CLCL, Choice 37Choice 373:14
2."Come Back Home"TeddyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:50
3."Gotta Be You" (너 아님 안돼; Neo Anim Andwae)Teddy, Choi Pil KangTeddy, Masta WuChoi P.K3:52
4."If I Were You" (살아 봤으면 해; Sara Bwasseumyeon Hae)CLCL, Dee.PDee.P3:30
5."Good to You" (착한 여자; Chakhan Yeoja)Teddy, G-DragonTeddy, Choice 37Choice 373:41
6."MTBD (CL solo)" (멘붕; Menbung)Teddy, CLTeddyTeddy3:16
7."Happy"TeddyTeddyTeddy3:37
8."Scream" (Korean version)CLTeddy, Dee.PDee.P3:40
9."Baby I Miss You"CLCL, Choice 37, PeejayChoice 37, Peejay3:12
10."Come Back Home" (Unplugged version)TeddyTeddy, P.K, Dee.PTeddy, P.K, Dee.P3:14
Crush Type A and Type B – DVD (Japanese music videos)
No.TitleLength
1."Crush" (music videos) 
2."Come Back Home" (music videos) 
3."Gotta Be You" (music videos) 
4."Happy" (music videos) 
5."Missing You" (music videos) 
6."Do You Love Me" (music videos) 
7."Falling in Love" (music videos) 
8."I Love You" (music videos) 
9."Making of Crush" 
Crush Type D – DVD (Fan Club Limited Edition)
No.TitleLength
1."2NE1 1st FANCLUB EVENT 2013 ～DO YOU LOVE ME～" (only sale for Blackjack Nolza Shop) 

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Crush.[32]

Charts

Sales and certifications

Region Sales
South Korea (Gaon) 72,514[46]
United States (Billboard) 10,000[47]

Release history

Korean version

Region Date Label Format
South Korea February 27, 2014 YG Entertainment
KT Music		 Digital download
March 7, 2014 CD
Japan March 19, 2014 YGEX
Avex Trax		 CD, Digital Download
Taiwan April 3, 2014 Warner Music Taiwan CD+Pendant (Black)
CD+DVD (Pink)
Philippines March 29, 2014 Warner Music Philippines CD

Japanese version

DateVersionCatalog No.FormatLabel
June 25, 2014 Type A AVCY-58236~7/B[n 1] 2CD+DVD+Photobook Avex
Type B AVCY-58238/B[n 1] CD+DVD
Type C AVCY-58239[n 1] CD only
Type D AVC1-58240/B[n 1] CD+DVD
Music Card Type A AQZ1-76335[n 1] Digital download
Music Card Type B AQZ1-76336[n 1] Digital download

References

Discography

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "DISCOGRAPHY". 2NE1(トゥエニィワン) Japan official website (in Japanese). Retrieved June 4, 2014.

Other references

  1. ↑ "2NE1 – All or Nothing". YG Life. January 15, 2014.
  2. ↑ "2NE1 – New album CRUSH Tracklist". YG-Life. February 19, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Hong Gil-dong (March 3, 2014). "2NE1 releases videos for 'Come Back Home,' 'Happy'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  4. ↑ "News about 2NE1: Part 2". YG Life. February 19, 2014.
  5. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (February 18, 2014). "2NE1 Announces Full-Length Album 'Crush,' New Singles Details (Updated)". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  6. ↑ "2NE1 Invites 21 Fans to Their Private Music-Listening Event before Comeback". YG Life. February 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ Choi Hyun-Jung (May 24, 2014). "Billboard MV of 2NE1's 'Gotta Be You'". Yahoo Entertainment. Singapore. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (March 15, 2014). "2NE1 Embraces Pop Art in 'Gotta Be You' Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  9. ↑ Kim, Young-dae; Mimyo (February 26, 2014). "2NE1 – Crush (2014)". Idology (in Korean). Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  10. 1 2 Jeon, Min-seok (March 2014). "2NE1 Crush – Review". IZM (in Korean). Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Brown, August (April 1, 2014). "Review: 2NE1 showcases K-pop's bright future in America with 'Crush'". Los Angeles Times.
  12. 1 2 Goble, Corban (March 28, 2014). "2NE1: Crush Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  13. ↑ "[Weekly weiv] 02.14 ~ 02.28" (in Korean). Weiv. March 5, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  14. ↑ Frahm, Jonathan (March 4, 2014). "Album Review: 'Crush' by 2NE1". Yahoo! Voices. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  15. 1 2 Aaron, Charles; Ganz, Caryn; Johnston, Maura; Spanos, Brittany; Walters, Barry (December 19, 2014). "20 Best Pop Albums of 2014". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  16. ↑ "2NE1's album 'Crush' named among Fuse TV's top 25 albums of 2014". The Korea Herald. June 18, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  17. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff; Xu, Tina (February 27, 2014). "9 Reasons to Love 2NE1's 'Crush' Album". Fuse TV. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015.
  18. 1 2 "40 Best Albums of 2014". Fuse. December 15, 2014. Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  19. 1 2 "The 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2014". Billboard. December 11, 2014.
  20. ↑ "2NE1, Spice Girls and Fifth Harmony Dominates Girl Group Week". Billboard. May 3, 2014. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  21. 1 2 Perez, Cielo (September 11, 2023). "The 30 Greatest K-Pop Albums of All Time". Paste Magazine. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  22. ↑ "2014년 12주차 Album Chart". Gaon Chart. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  23. ↑ "2NE1 Charts 6 Songs on Gaon 2014 Mid-Year Charts + Reaches 5.2 Million Downloads". YG Ladies. July 18, 2014. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014.
  24. 1 2 Jeon, Yoon-hee (November 13, 2014). '2014 멜론뮤직어워드' 올해의 앨범상 god "큰상 오랜만" '울컥' [G.o.d wins '2014 Melon Music Awards' Album of the Year: "Big award after a long time," 'crying']. Korea Economic TV (in Korean). Retrieved November 28, 2021 – via Naver.
  25. ↑ "CL Receiving Death Threats From Alleged Muslims For Possible 'MTBD' Quran Verse On 2NE1 'Crush' Album". KPopStarz. March 10, 2014.
  26. ↑ "음악포털 벅스, '2014 벅스 어워드' 발표" [Music portal Bugs announces '2014 Bugs Awards']. Herald Economy (in Korean). December 31, 2014 – via Naver.
  27. ↑ Hicap, Johnathan (January 5, 2015). "Sistar looks forward to an amazing 2015". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  28. ↑ "YG '레드닷 디자인 어워드' 첫 출품 5관왕 '쾌거'" [YG wins at the world's top 3 design awards '5 splendid achievements']. News1 (in Korean). August 10, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2021 – via Naver.
  29. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (December 1, 2017). "The 40 Best K-Pop Deep Cuts of the Decade So Far: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  30. ↑ "The 25 Greatest K-Pop Albums of the 2010s: Staff List". Billboard. December 17, 2019.
  31. ↑ Dorof, Jakob (December 29, 2014). "The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2014". Vice. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  32. ↑ Crush (booklet) (in Korean). 2NE1. YG Entertainment. 2014.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  33. ↑ "Meilleures ventes d'Albums téléchargés en France le 28 février 2014 (Top Albums)" (in French). Chartsinfrance. March 6, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  34. ↑ "2014年06月23日～2014年06月29日のCDアルバム週間ランキング". Oricon Style (in Japanese). July 7, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Top Albums Sales – 2014/07/02". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). July 2, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Chart. March 3, 2014. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  37. ↑ "G-Music Combo Chart – 2014 Week 15" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). G-Music. April 17, 2014. Archived from the original on April 18, 2014.
  38. ↑ "G-Music J-pop Chart – 2014 Week 15" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). G-Music. April 17, 2014. Archived from the original on April 18, 2014.
  39. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. March 2–8, 2014.
  40. ↑ "2ne1 Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  41. ↑ "2ne1 Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  42. ↑ "2ne1 Chart History (World Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Circle Album Chart – March 2014". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  44. ↑ "Circle Album Chart – 2014". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  45. ↑ "2014 Year-End Charts – Billboard World Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  46. ↑ "2014년 Album Chart" [2014 year album chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  47. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff. "Will a K-Pop Girl Group Take Over the U.S. Soon (Or Ever)?". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
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